Tiassa (book)
The thirteenth novel in the Vlad Taltos series, and the next novel after Iorich. Plot Outline A loose collection of independent stories, rather than a single unified narrative, Tiassa covers more than a decade of time, mostly revolving around events in the life of Vlad Taltos as it intersects with a certain powerful artifact; the Silver Tiassa. Tiassa consists of three main sections, entitled Tag, Whitecrest, and Special Tasks. The book also contains a number of introductory and interstitial sections outlining the origins of the Silver Tiassa, Devera, and the ultimate (or at least current) fate of the Silver Tiassa itself. Tag Narrated by Vlad Taltos, this is the story of an elaborate series of confidence games, involving the Silver Tiassa, Piro, Ibronka, Vlad, H'Noc, and others. Whitecrest Told from a third-person perspective which shifts focus to a different character in each chapter, this details an attempt by a Jhereg boss to find and eliminate Vlad Taltos, using a False Jenoine Invasion, and the reported powers of the Silver Tiassa, supposedly (but not actually) in Vlad's possession, as a pretext to have the Empress trace his exact location using the Orb. Intervention by Daro, Cawti, Norathar e'Lanya, and Zerika the Fourth are key in dealing with this scheme. Special Tasks Narrated by Paarfi of Roundwood. This tells of an investigation by Khaavren, Captain of the Phoenix Guard, into an attack on Vlad Taltos by unknown ruffians. As Taltos has an Imperial Title, Khaavren is obliged to investigate. When Vlad proves uncooperative in this investigation, Khaavren lets the investigation drop until his old comrade Pel appears (as a mysteriously hooded Prime Minister!) and proposes that the attack may be linked to the still unsolved mysteries of the False Jenoine Invasion and again the Silver Tiassa. Khaavren is forced to employ more indirect means to solve the mystery, in his other role as Brigadier of the Special Tasks Group. Role of the House "Tiassa dreams, and plots are born." Dathaani, Vlad, Khaavren, Piro, Daro, Cawti, Norathar and Verra all use their creativity to devise ingenious plans of attack on their various problems. As usual, Vlad takes on somewhat of the role of the House in this book, devising an inspired plot to deal with Piro's problem of tagged money, while keeping a plot of his own in readiness behind. In an interesting reversal, though, our favorite Tiassa, Lord Khaavren, appears in the last section of the book, and solves his own investigation in a fashion we'd normally associate with Vlad -- he investigates until he realizes he cannot learn any more, then arranges to have all the major players in the same room at the same time, puts hand on hilt, and with no real plan, just walks in. A third and more obvious role of the House is that of the Silver Tiassa itself, which turns out not only to be inspiration for much of the story, but also to embody inspiration itself, very much in the spirit of House Tiassa. Major Characters *Vladimir Taltos *Khaavren *Loiosh *Dathaani *Norathar e'Lanya *Cawti *Zerika IV *Piro *Ibronka *Devera *Rynend *Pel *Omlo *Sara Other Characters *Kiera *Timmer *Kosadr *Sethra Lavode *Kragar *Feorae *Sticks *Shoen *Melestav *Aliera e'Kieron *Kieron the Conqurer *H'noc *Tukko Great Scenes * Call me the Blue Fox. * The Sword and The Dagger Ride Again * Inconceivable. Well, almost. * A pleasant evening to enjoy a concert. Favorite Quotes * "I'm a musician. They call me the repercussionist." * "I'm the Blue Fox." "You aren't really." Category:Books